Making and outline…. sounds pretty simple. You take the main ideas and put them on the left and then get the supporting information and indent it. A tried and true way to organize information. A classic.

From Maximum Education, my soon to be released book which will help you with all levels of academics… “The purpose of an outline is to condense the essential information from a large source into a smaller, more direct, and useful format.”

But, did you know that there are many other ways to make an outline? In fact, in Maximum Education, you will learn 6 other ways to outline and to organize information.

Which begs the question: Why would I need 7 ways to outline..

Answer: because different types of information should be organized in different ways.

History class is generally factual information. Maybe a timeline would help. Or a way to sort people and their contributions to history.

Science class often has topical information and formulas. A flow chart and examples work better.

Here is just one example of an ‘alternative’ type of outline. This is called a Spoke. The main idea is in the center and the supporting ideas are spokes around the main idea.